Editing Lev Dovator (section)

==Operation Barbarossa==

At the start of the [[Operation Barbarossa|German invasion of the Soviet Union]], he was posted as Chief of Staff of the [[Red Army]]'s 36th Cavalry Division. In July 1941, he won the Order of the Red Banner for bravery in the defensive battles at the Solovyo crossing of the [[Dnieper|Dniepr]]. Colonel Dovator conducted a successful fighting withdrawal, crossing a bridge over the river just before the Germans captured it. In August 1941 he was given command of a cavalry group consisting of the 50th and 53rd Cavalry Divisions. General Lev Dovator's 50th and 53rd Cavalry divisions were raised exclusively from [[Kuban Cossacks]]. Despite his Jewish heritage, unique with the [[Cossacks]], they accepted Dovator as one of their own and considered him a great leader, superb horseman, and master of sabre.<ref name="Harrel"/>

By mid-August, German troops reached the [[Mezha River]]. On August 13, Dovator received orders to raid the German rear and disrupt preparations for their next advance. Out of his two divisions of 4,500 men he took 3,000 Cossacks. The group was concentrated in the vicinity of [[Pozhano]], [[Formino]], and [[Budnits]]. By mid-August, they were assembled in a swampy and forested region 20&nbsp;km/12 miles east of [[Zharkovsky (urban-type settlement)|Zharkovskii]], well behind and beyond the 30th Army's right flank. For a week, Dovator's Cossacks repeatedly probed the German defenses, seeking to infiltrate. The cavalry pressed its advance into the German rear in a dispersed formation, traveling along cart roads and forest trails.<ref name="Harrel"/> Thanks to excellent reconnaissance his cavalry for 10 days smashed the German rear. During this time they killed more than 2,500 troops of the Wehrmacht, 200 vehicles, and 7 tanks. The famous artists of the Moscow circus from the team of Mikhail Tuganov notably served in this unit. They were reportedly able to shoot standing on the back of a galloping horse or, conversely, by firing from underneath its belly, which influenced the development among Germans of the myth of the "wild Russian". {{Citation Needed|date=April 2022}}

The formation created an illusion that their riding force was much larger than 3,000 sabres, which had a great psychological effect on the Germans. Squadrons unexpectedly materialized from dense forests to cut communication wires, attack supply convoys and isolate German garrisons, only to vanish back into the forests. Once liberated, villagers reported that they had heard from the Germans that 100,000 [[Cossacks]] had broken through German lines. Dovator's deception was clearly effective.<ref name="Harrel"/> He soon became the commander of a cavalry group, and in August&ndash;September 1941 this cavalry group executed the most daring raid through rear areas of the German army in the vicinity of [[Smolensk]]. Dovator's famous raid in early 1941 was conducted with only 3000 sabres and sixty-five machine guns carried on packhorses.<ref name="Harrel"/> The Germans after the raid appointed an award amounting to 100,000 Marks for his head. On 11 September 1941, he was promoted to major general for this action.<ref>Soviet Calendar 1917-1947 (CCCP production)</ref>